April 21, 2020
3 min read
In a second decision concerning rent overcharge issued on April 2, 2020, New York’s highest court ruled that rent-stabilized tenants were entitled to bring overcharge claims against building owners either before the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) or before a court.
Read More April 07, 2020
3 min read
On April 2, 2020, New York’s highest court issued an important set of decisions in four consolidated cases concerning rent overcharge of rent-stabilized tenants. Here, in Regina Metropolitan Co., LLC v. DHCR et seq., the Court of Appeals had been asked to decide the proper method for calculating the recoverable rent overcharge for NYC apartments that were improperly removed from rent stabilization during receipt of J-51 tax benefits. This issue had come up repeatedly since the Court’s 2009 Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties ruling. In many cases following Roberts, the DHCR and court decisions had been both conflicting and confusing as to how overcharges should be calculated. And, by the time the four cases in question reached the Court of Appeals, additional questions were presented concerning the effect of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) on any further rulings.
Read More April 07, 2020
6 min read
With the June 2019 passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA), owners are desperately seeking ways out of rent regulation in an attempt to recapture the profitability their buildings previously had. Two such exit strategies are “substantial rehabilitation,” available only to deteriorated buildings, and “demolition,” generally available to rent-stabilized buildings regardless of their condition.
Read More April 01, 2020
4 min read
As we continue to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, both our work and social lives remain on a pause. Given the rate of increase in infections, New York State extended the shelter-in-place policy for nonessential workers to April 15, 2020. Last week, I provided an update on the recent New York State sick leave laws, along with a reminder of an employee’s rights under New York City law. Landlords, management companies, and property owners must also adhere to the newly enacted federal laws regarding paid and unpaid sick leave that become effective on April 1, 2020, and are set to expire on Jan. 1, 2021.
Read More April 01, 2020
4 min read
The alarming rise and spread of COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives in new and troubling ways for the foreseeable future. Social distancing and a shelter-in-place policy requiring non-essential employees to work from home affects every single New Yorker. Given that we are in the middle of a pandemic with no end date, landlords, management companies, and property owners need to know or be refreshed on what rights under New York State and New York City laws their employees can exercise in terms of sick leave.
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